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 Topic: Gutted (and this is my first post)
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04/10/2015 at 10:45pm
Location: Kent
Outfit: 2016 Hornet S6A and awning
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After an absence of 20+ years from the camping scene, I thought it would be a good idea to take it up again as I used the flexible working rules to drop down to a three day week giving me a 4 day weekend every week. Meant having to start from scratch again and buying all the ancillary kit. Since there are three of us who like space I bought an Outwell Hornet L with the awning and shopped around for all the other various needed bits and pieces - prices are remarkably good at this time of year.
Tent and Awning were delivered a few days ago. Decided to "test drive" it in the garden today. Laid the footprint, unravelled the tent did all the checks (per the video) - external valves closed, internal valves open etc. Tried the supplied manual pump - no impact on the thing whatsoever and really hard work. Switched to a 12v sidewinder pump which has proved reliable for boats and things and all looked good - air beams started to firm up nicely. Daughter popped inside and lifted the beams and the shape started to form. When she stopped lifting, parts of it folded and looked like a giant insect. This was the case even with the two of us lifting the beams while the pump was working. Then the pump failed. Stuck in another electric pump, excellent air flow into the intake but the tent wouldn't rise beyond half inflated. Some of the beams were rigid but the rear and centre just wouldn't lift even though it was clear that air was getting into those beams. Couldn't hear any leaking air sounds from any part. Decided to get another decent pump to replace the sidewinder so went to the local camping supplier and bought the Sevvylor 12v jobbie at £40 as it fits the bill. Returned home, plugged the pump in, LED display came on, set the pressure gauge, switched on and it just made a farting sound for less than a second and reset itself to zero. All power connections, fuses etc checked and OK but I can only get a fart from the thing even when tried on other inflatables. The sun was shining and it was a nice day but 5 hours later, I gave up and packed the tent back into its bag (that was actually the easiest bit of the whole exercise). I am wondering if all this a message from "above" to give up. I will be phoning the supplier in the morning and haven't a clue what happens now - It was bought online so a good distance is involved and cannot pop round with it to a local store (another lesson learned). I photographed the scenario and I will also have to go round to the camping shop to see about the pump but I suppose that is one of the benefits of having a Monday off. Has anybody had a similar experience? The good thing is that I didn't leave it until a visit to a camp site to discover the problems but I have already (and probably stupidly) booked and paid for a weekend at a site in a fortnight's time. As the title says, I'm gutted and I haven't even tested the awning yet).
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05/10/2015 at 7:25am
Location: Hertfordshire
Outfit: Anything I like !!!
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It sounds like you have pump issues and nothing wrong with the tent. Have you tried the hand pump which was supplied with the tent on a boat or airbed etc.
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Gary Cross - The masked camping guru.
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05/10/2015 at 9:06am
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Just as well you did the test pitch, as soon as you did, good luck with getting sorted, just a bit of bad luck, nothing to do with divine intervention.
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05/10/2015 at 2:22pm
Location: Shrewsbury
Outfit: Berghaus Air 6.1
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Quote: Originally posted by Cross Camping on 05/10/2015
It sounds like you have pump issues and nothing wrong with the tent. Have you tried the hand pump which was supplied with the tent on a boat or airbed etc.
See second paragraph of op's comments, tried the hand pump first, then went on to try various electric pumps, but all without success. Is there a problem with the beams as opposed to the pumps.
Hope you have had some success with the retailer today, for both tent and pump.
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05/10/2015 at 10:09pm
Location: Kent coast
Outfit: Gelert Navajo 4
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can't you borrow a tent off a friend for the weekend you've booked? It would be a shame to miss out
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07/10/2015 at 8:52am
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Re the Pump, check the current, my Ring compressor Pump sucks 144watt which is around 12amp and more like 15amp on startup, I have a Linear 10-14amp mains PSU which just about powers it, but it can struggle under load, it also works better of the car sockets.
Many cars only have 10amp supply to the sockets, although these days newer cars will be mostly 20amp, as many cars now don't carry a Spare Wheel, but have a Pump Compressor and a Tube of Gunk, which is suppose to sort out your flat tyre but rarely does.
Why not stick with the Pump you have, it is obviously a powerful one.
You can get hold of a decent linear transformer that will do 15amp, probably around £30, even a Switch Moder PSU would do, but they tend not to be as reliable as Linear.
If the Pump is going to be to much for the car sockets, although from what you have said that worked, you could always power the Pump directly of the car battery, or even invest in a Leiusure battery.
Post last edited on 07/10/2015 09:02:36
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08/10/2015 at 10:48pm
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If you only want to buy that to run your pump then cheaper would be a 5metre extention lead for your car socket. here
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09/10/2015 at 1:19pm
Location: Oxford
Outfit: helsport Kongsvold
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Quote: Originally posted by HuiYuan on 08/10/2015
Thank you Francais - making me think!
My car is a year old and equipped with 3 x 12v 20Amp sockets. But, do you think this thing would be any good - it has the 12v sockets and is portable?
http://www.halfords.com/workshop-tools/garage-equipment/jump-leads/phaze-4-in-1-jump-starter
Phaze 4-in-1 Jump Starter Extra Info
Suitable for vehicles with petrol or diesel engines up to 2000cc
2 x 12V DC power supply sockets
USB power supply thats suitable for MP3 players, phone chargers, games consoles etc.
LED work lamp for clear visibility
Easy to read charging/battery status
Fully insulated battery clips with 600mm leads
17ah internal battery
Manufactured to European Electrical Safety Standards
Input: 230V AC (Charging Adapter)
350 Amp (intermittent recommended max)
Whether this would be any good depends on how much current your pump draws,and how long it would take to pump up your tent. In simple terms if your pump draws 17amps it would run theoretically for an hour, in practice probably slightly less.
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10/10/2015 at 8:00am
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I think you will find The jump starter is basically a car battery with a charger in a box. If the battery is fully charged then it should run your pump more than long enough to inflate your tent, it does not need to be plugged into ehu at same time. The unit can be recharged at any time by plugging into ehu.
Post last edited on 10/10/2015 08:13:52
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11/10/2015 at 7:41am
Location: Yorkshire
Outfit: None Entered
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The retailer must have tested the tent then and agreed the tubes are faulty? Glad to hear you're getting it sorted without too much stress but, it raises questions about the quality control at Outwell. These aren't cheap tents!
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